Helicopter crash quashes hopes of a new generation of figure skaters


Helicopter crash quashes hopes of a new generation of figure skaters

01 February 2025 6:00am GMT As the spotlight illuminates the ice, a pair of silver blades flash in the light gliding around the rink. All eyes are upon the skater guiding them. He leaps into the air, using the jagged toe of his blade to propel him 2ft high, spinning three times in 0.7 seconds before landing smoothly backwards on the other leg. The triple flip is a jump most figure skaters would train from the age of four to complete, but Spencer Lane, 16, had been skating just shy of three years. The skill shown in the video clip is a magnificent feat. “This gave me chills,” one observer said. “See you in the Olympics.” But Spencer will never attend the Olympics: He died alongside dozens of other young and promising figure skaters as they returned from an elite training camp